This week in Tampa: 97X Next Big Thing, Donny and Marie Osmond, Alabama Shakes, Lyle Lovett, Megadeth and more

Most Decembers aren't that busy, concert-wise, but December 2013 is threatening to be the busiest concert month of the year in Tampa Bay. It all gets started this weekend with a mind-boggling array of shows, starting with 97X Next Big Thing (with Thirty Seconds to Mars, Jimmy Eat World and Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington, among others) at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg.

Huey Lewis and the NewsFRIDAY 8 p.m. Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater. $49.50-$100. (727) 791-7400.Even though he says he’s “not a backward-looking guy,” Huey Lewis couldn’t resist taking a stroll down memory lane this year to mark the 30th anniversary of his breakthrough album Sports, which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and turned Huey Lewis and the News into ’80s A-listers. On this tour, the band is playing the album front to back — not just hits like I Want a New Drug, Heart and Soul and The Heart of Rock & Roll, but rare cuts like their cover of Hank Williams’ Honky Tonk Blues — as well as other hits from their career. — Jay Cridlin

97X Next Big ThingWith Thirty Seconds to Mars, Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington, A Day to Remember, Jimmy Eat World, Dirty Heads, Sleepwave, Frank Turner, Sleeping With Sirens, Pepper, Saints of Valory, Manchester OrchestraSATURDAY Noon. Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg. Tickets are $65 through Friday; $80 at the gate if available. 97xonline.com.Alt-rock station 97X has a long and storied history with Thirty Seconds to Mars, who have played Next Big Thing three times. But things are different this year. For one thing, frontman Jared Leto is a likely Oscar nominee for his gender-bending role in Dallas Buyers Club. For another, his melodic, anthemic screamo-rock band will headline the whole damn festival. But there’s plenty here for everyone to see, including Stone Temple Pilots, who have replaced erratic frontman Scott Weiland with Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington; Ocala metalcore heroes A Day to Remember; The Middle power-poppers Jimmy Eat World; and British punk poet Frank Turner. New St. Petersburg rock group Sleepwave — who are fronted by former Underoath singer Spencer Chamberlain — were a late replacement for The 1975, who had to drop out due to a schedule conflict. And one more bonus: Next Big Thing reggae-rockers the Dirty Heads will kick things off with an acoustic performance at 9 p.m. Friday at Hogan’s Beach in Tampa. — Jay Cridlin

The sleaziest thing TMZ has on Donny Osmond is a story about the time the 55-year-old forgot to use sunscreen while on vacation in Hawaii. That’s seriously how squeaky-clean Osmond is, and all of that wholesome, family-friendly ooey-gooey-ness is going to be on full display when he and sister Marie take to the Tampa Bay Times Forum for just one of 15 stops on their Christmas Tour. Holiday classics (yay, we haven’t heard enough of those yet!) will be mixed in with tried and true Osmond classics, so if you like your yuletide anthems mixed in with A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock 'n’ Roll, then scoop up some tickets to this one.

Alabama ShakesWith Clear Plastic MakersFRIDAY 8 p.m., Jannus Live, 16 Second St. N, St. Petersburg. Sold out. (727) 565-0550. A sold out crowd waiting with baited breath will meet the Alabama Shakes when they make their Bay area debut, and by all indications, the Athens, Ga.-based outfit is not poised to disappoint. Frontwoman Britanny Howard is the keeper of one of the country’s most arresting voices, and the band’s only LP, last year’s Boys & Girls, is a timeless country-kissed collection of dusty, muscle-bound Southern rock sprinkled with just enough emotion and Stax-era soul to squeeze a sniffle or two out of even the hardest of hearts. The Shakes’ hit single Hold On will probably make an early appearance, but the whole of the setlist should be a spellbinding affair.

August Burns RedWith Blessthefall, Defeater, BeartoothSATURDAY 7:30 p.m., Ritz Ybor, 1503 Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $22 and up. (813) 247-2555.August Burns Red’s cover of Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time, is probably the worst idea the band ever put to tape. But while the Pennsylvania quintet’s brand of searing, scorched-earth metal doesn’t mesh with the former princess of pop’s biggest single, it does work really well on each piece of the band’s six-part discography. It’s especially potent in a live setting, too, as fans slam around while August Burn Red’s Christian-influenced lyrics ride the band’s odd time signatures and epic breakdowns into a blazing sunset of heavy riffage and bellowing, angry vocals.

Skatepark Of Tampa 21st Anniversary PartyWith Trinidad James, Flatbush Zombies, Unstoppable Death MachinesSATURDAY 7:30 p.m., Cuban Club, 2010 Avenida Republica De Cuba, Ybor City. Free. (813) 248-2954.The Skatepark Of Tampa pulls out all the stops for its contests, and this year’s Tampa Am, a weeklong exhibition of the world’s best amateur skateboarders, is no exception. The non-sport highlight is always the concert that SPoT manages to pull together, and while this year’s bill does feature formerly Tampa-based rapper Trinidad James, the real score is Flatbush Zombies, a Brooklyn trio who are at the forefront of a Big Apple-born resurgence of East Coast hip hop dubbed “Beast Coast.” While modern skateboarding and rap music both seem to be heavy with corporate influence these days, the amateur contest, as well as the Zombies, still reek with an aroma of authenticity that should be on full display at this notoriously rowdy party.

Danny BrownSATURDAY 8 p.m., State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $18-$20. (727) 895-3045.He has an epic gap-tooth and the Midwest’s most outrageous comb-over, but beneath the surface, there’s much more head-scratching nuance to the hip-hop phenomenon known as Danny Brown. The 32-year-old born Daniel Sewell recently landed in hot water for allegedly receiving special oral “attention” onstage, but not even that has stopped fans and other musicians (Bob Dylan tapped Brown to be in the new video for Like A Rolling Stone) from flocking to the Detroit MC. His free, critically loved 2011 LP XX created a wave of buzz that Brown rode for a couple years before releasing this year’s Old, where he pushed boundaries even further by collaborating with rap heavyweights like Freddie Gibbs and A$AP Rocky as well as indie darlings like Purity Ring and Charli XCX.

MegadethWith Fear Factory, NonpointSUNDAY 7:30 p.m., Jannus Live, 16 Second St. N, St. Petersburg. $35-$40. (727) 565-0550.Getting kicked out of Metallica may have been the best thing ever to happen to Dave Mustaine. The 52-year-old brushed off the dismissal, going on to form Megadeth and become of the most important guitarists metal has ever seen. That distinction has allowed him a faithful audience who endure his perplexing rants (Mustaine has waxed un-poetic about politics, homosexuality and religion among other things) in the hopes of getting their faces melted by the classic riffs and prog-influenced thrash found on classic Megadeth LPs like Killing Is My Business…and Business Is Good! and Peace Sells…but Who’s Buying? Mustaine isn’t exactly in the best physical shape, and Megadeth doesn’t come around too often, so fans might want to save the date for this one.

The Devil Wears PradaWith The Ghost Inside, Volumes, Texas In JulySUNDAY 6 p.m., State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $20 and up. (813) 247-2555.The Warped Tour is at least half a year away, but fans of Warped’s brand of extremely catchy, best-experienced-live alternative rock can satiate their thirst at the State Theatre on Sunday. Warped veterans Texas In July, Volumes and The Ghost Inside will open for The Devil Wears Prada, who sport a more melodic, slightly electro-influenced approach to the genre’s typically aggressive, body-slamming sound. This show — which was moved from the Ritz Ybor — is an early one, so fans can be back in the bed well before it’s time to hit the sack in advance of the work/school week.

Lyle Lovett and His Acoustic GroupMONDAY, Tampa Theatre, 711 N Franklin St., Tampa. $62-$75. (813) 274-8981.With his “Large Band” in tow, the touches of swing, jazz and gospel that color Lyle Lovett’s striking take on country and blues really shine, but things should be equally spectacular on this particular stop, where the 56-year-old living legend will be backed by his “Acoustic Group” for an intimate set within the walls of a venue that is legendary in itself. A gifted songwriter who works the stage with a beguiling, humble panache, Lovett is sure to breathe a new kind of life into favorites like If I Had A Boat and That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas), mix in some holiday cuts (listen to him duet with Kat Edmonson on Baby, It’s Cold Outside) and enchant the crowd while the ornate décor and unparalleled ambience of the Tampa Theatre quietly shines on in its own special way.